The Rev. Kent McKusick

The Rev. Kent McKusick died on June 4, 2024, at the age of 72 (1952-2024).

Kent is survived by his spouse James Perrin; brother John McKusick; and nieces Amy O’Connel, Lisa Levasalmi, and Diane Wiley Czarnick.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on August 15, 2024, at the UU Society of Bangor, 120 Park St, Bangor ME 04401.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the local theater where you live. UURMaPA will contribute to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences may be sent to James Perrin at james.d.perrin@gmail.com or 5509 Wiltshire Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76135.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed. It will be published in an upcoming issue of Elderberries and posted on the UURMaPA website.If any readers would wish to contribute information or reminiscences, we would welcome them. Please send them to UURMaPA’s clergy obituary editor, Rev. Jay Atkinson – jayatk40@gmail.com.

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Torquil MacLean

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Torquil MacLean died on May 29, 2024, at the age of 97 (1926-2024). Ken is survived by his partner Terry Watson and son Derek MacLean.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on September 21, 2024, at the Cedar Lane UU Congregation, 9601 Cedar Ln, Bethesda MD 20814.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made tohttps://www.cedarlane.org/.

Notes of condolences may be sent to: Cedar Lane UU Congregation, 9601
Cedar Ln, Bethesda MD 20814.

A more complete obituary will follow.

The Rev. David More Maynard

The Rev. David More Maynard died on November 22, 2023, at the age of 77 (1945-2023).

David is survived by his wife, Jane; four brothers; four children; and five grandchildren. A memorial service was held on Friday, December 8, 2023, at the First Unitarian Church of Portland, 1211 SW Main St., Portland OR.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Compassion & Choices or SOLVE Oregon. Notes of condolences may be written here.

The Rev. Ronald D. Marcy

The Rev. Ronald “Ron” D. Marcy died on January 4, 2024, at the age of 87 (1936-2024).

Ron is survived by his wife Judith (Klein) Marcy; his two children: Glenn Lawrence Blumberg, and Suzanne Lynn Marcy; sister Joan Allen; as well as his two nephews: Mark, and David Allen. He was preceded in death by his only grandchild, Emily Rose Blumberg.

Ron’s ashes will be laid to rest by his family this Spring in his beloved Palmer, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County, 27 North Road, Peace Dale, RI 02879, for a Memorial Leaf in his honor for its Tree of Life; or The WARM Center, 56 Spruce Street, Westerly, RI 02891; or The Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County, 61 Main Street, Wakefield, RI 02879.

Karen S. Muir

Karen Kristine Sandstrom Muir died August 17, 2023, at the age of 74 (1949-2023), in Ludington MI on a visit to family in Ludington MI with her husband, the Rev. Frederick Muir, minister emeritus of the UU Church of Annapolis.

She was born Jan. 31, 1949, the daughter of Maj. Donald Gustave Sandstrom, a career Army officer, and Kaethe Bonnekamp Sandstrom, in Staten Island NY. She lived in Germany for a brief period, then moved to Indianapolis where her father taught at Fort Benjamin Harrison. “When she entered kindergarten, she only spoke German,” the Rev. Muir said.

After graduating from high school, she attended Butler University, both in Indianapolis IN, on a debate scholarship, where in 1970 she earned her B.A. in history and social studies, then obtained an M.A. there.

She taught Social Studies for 40 years, in New York City, Sanford ME, then in Odenton MD, when she and Fred moved to Annapolis. He served as minister there for 34 years. She was active in Maryland Democratic politics. She was a fierce advocate of public education, world traveler, avid reader, movie lover, devoted Orioles baseball fan, and dessert enthusiast (most notably cookie dough).

“It was very important to her to have a safe teaching environment. She was very good working with middle school students. She looked at them as people and not as pains,” said colleague and friend Meg Kauder. To bring the outside world into her classroom, Ms. Muir embraced the World Wise Schools program, where students and teachers corresponded with Peace Corps volunteers in the Central African Republic.

Surviving are her husband Fred, a son Andrew Sandstorm Muir, daughter Kristina Muir, two sisters, Kathe Donna Sandstorm and Karalyn Sandstrom Young. A memorial service was held September 24, 2023, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis.

Sue Male

Sue Male died on May 14, 2022 at the age of 89. Her husband was the Rev. Don Male, who predeceased her.

Sue was born on Jan. 27, 1933 in Knoxville to her parents, Marie and Carl Anderson. Sue graduated from Knoxville High School in 1950. In 1952, while at UT Knoxville, she met and married John S.G. Williams. They had two children, Jennifer Williams Nourse and Carl Edward Parsons Williams. In 1957, she and John and Jennifer moved to Tullahoma. Divorced in 1967, Sue remarried in 1971 to “the love of her life,” Donald W. Male, and moved nearby to Manchester.

Sue was passionate about social justice issues, beginning initially as a volunteer for philanthropic organizations and political campaigns that met her social justice values. She proudly stated she was the “first white woman to join the local NAACP in the county” and played a role in typing up newsletters for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Sue also helped to establish the first chapter of the National Organization for Women in the region.

During the late 1960s, Sue began work as an advocate for the founding of and administrator for the first Multi-County Mental Health Center. Moreover, Sue played a major role in establishing the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, a church associated with progressive issues. Sue and Don also aided in financing the Unitarian Universalist Camp, the Mountain Retreat, in Highlands, NC.

Don’s three children, Sherry, Connie, and Peggy, and Sue’s two children enjoyed stays at “The Mountain.” In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Sue served as a UUA trustee representing the Southeast (TJ District).

In 1985, Sue completed her B.A. in urban planning at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. She graduated magna cum laude, finding employment as a city planner for Rutherford County in Murfreesboro, including speaking on television about urban issues. Later, Sue accepted a position as a paralegal for the David Bolin Law firm in Smyrna.

During her final years as a widow, Sue moved to Richmond, VA, where her daughter, Jennifer, lives. Despite her declining health, Sue was still able to calculate arithmetic problems and work her daily crossword puzzles up until the last weeks of her life. Sue will be remembered for her kind heart, her determination and intelligence, and her love of family and friends.

She is survived by children, Jennifer Williams Nourse, PhD., Richmond, VA; Carl Edward Parsons Williams, Spartanburg, SC; Sherry Male, Nashville, TN; Peggy Male Lenny, Indian Rock Beach, Florida; Connie Male Wilson, Cookeville, TN; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial service for Sue will be held in Knoxville at the Unitarian Universalist Church on June 4, 2022 at 2 p.m. where her remains will be interred next to her husband, Donald Warren Male.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, TN, PO Box 331, Tullahoma, TN 37388. UURMaPA will donate $50 to the UU Church of Tullahoma in her memory.

Notes of condolence can be sent online.

Elizabeth Gartner Maloney

Betty Maloney died Feb. 2, 2022 when, although fully vaccinated, she succumbed to COVID. She was the widow of Rev. Thomas J. Maloney.

She was born June 8, 1923, in Boston MA, to Walter and Elizabeth (Zepfler) Gartner. She attended Needham schools. Betty’s childhood summers were spent at her grandfather’s beach cottage in Minot on Boston’s south shore. Her fondest memories later in life were of Minot. She was a graduate of Middlebury College VT, with a major in economics; received an M.A. in Economics from Columbia University; and later an M.A. in Education from Southern Illinois University.

She married fellow Needham High graduate Thomas J. Maloney in 1948, a man possessed with Wanderlust. Tom completed degrees from Northeastern; the University of Colorado in Boulder; a Divinity degree from Harvard; and a PhD in Sociology/Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. In the year that Tom and Betty spent in Boulder, they became active in the Unitarian Fellowship (the first fellowship chartered by the American Unitarian Association) and welcomed their first daughter, Susan. Daughter Greta was born in Massachusetts; Lisa, was born in Davenport IA; and son Thomas Jefferson was born in Quincy IL.

Tom served ministries in Davenport IA; Quincy IL; and Boulder CO. He also taught Anthropology and sociology in Boulder; in Las Vegas NM; at Southern Illinois University; and started the Anthropology Dept. at Ripon College WI.

In Boulder, beyond raising four children, Betty was active in the League of Women Voters, Shares In the Future (anti-nuclear weapons), and library services to Boulder County. She helped obtain funding for a bookmobile and volunteered with the librarian. She was president of the League of Women Voters. In 1967 the family moved to Ripon, WI, where Betty was a fifth- grade teacher. In Edwardsville IL, she worked as a reading tutor.

In Edwardsville Betty really came into her own in community service: the Human Relations Commission, the Edwardsville Township Community Improvements Corporation, and the Historic Preservation Commission. Maloney counted the months of her service in Edwardsville with bricks from demolished buildings. “Oh, dear,” she would say, “this was a three brick month!”

She helped to create the N.O. Nelson Historic District, the Goshen Preservation Alliance, and Friends of the Edwardsville Public Library. She administered the Community Development & Rehabilitation Fund and oversaw surplus food programs for Edwardsville Township. She worked tirelessly for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and debated Phyllis Schlafly on the issue. She received the NAACP Award, the Women’s Award, and the Jefferson Award for Distinguished Public Service in the St. Louis area.

In 2005 her husband Tom, “the light of her life, left her.” In 2013 she moved to Balfour in Louisville to be closer to daughter Greta. In 2016, due to increasing dementia, Betty moved to The Academy at Bella Vista. In 2019 Betty lost her eyesight to glaucoma but remained engaged in the world. She was a trivia champion at Bella Vista, a lifelong gardener, an artist, and very interested in genealogy. For years she sent individually painted holiday cards and cards with pressed flowers. As family historian, she compiled numerous books on branches of her family.

Betty is survived by her sister, Louise Birkhead of Slingerlands NY; daughters, Susan Thomae (Edmundo) of Mexico City; Greta Maloney (Bob Palaich) of Boulder CO; and Lisa Maloney Hahn (Dan Maloney Hahn) of Groton NY; her son, Tom (Jeff) Maloney (Lori) of Worden IL; seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

Donations in Betty’s memory can be made to:

The League of Women Voters (https://www.coloradogives.org/LWVColorado) The Madison County Historical Society (https://madcohistory.org/joindonate) or the Poudre River Public Library (https://www.poudrelibraries.org/donate)

Susan “Sue” L. Majeau

Susan “Sue” L. Majeau passed away in Hampden, Maine on September 21, 2021 after a brief illness. Her husband was the late Rev. Joseph Majeau. Sue had just celebrated her 88th birthday.

According to an obituary in the Bangor (Maine) Daily News, Sue taught school in Hampden and Portland for many years. She was a gifted artist and loved music, storytelling, the beauty of nature, and road trips. Two organizations that were a huge part of her life were the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor and Memory Joggers.

Sue is survived by her sisters, Becca Lombard, Mercy Beal, and Marcia Hastings; children, Marci Gaglione, Trudy Bacon (Jeff), Cedena McAvoy (Terry), Katie Snow (David), Bob Parsons; also her grandchildren, Wynnona, Paul, Nathan, William, Toby, and Caleb; seven great-grandchildren; and one yet to be born great-great grandchild (due in Spring).

Sue was predeceased by her husband, the Rev. Joseph Majeau; son, David Parsons; and grandson, Jesse McAvoy. Services were held on October 2, 2021. She was remembered during UURMaPA’s virtual conference in October.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor or to Memory Joggers. UURMaPA will contribute $50 in her memory.

Notes of condolence can be sent to the family at 59 Monroe Road, Hampden, ME 04444 and also to Rosemary Parsons at 167 Old Town Road, Hudson, ME 04449.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. William “Bill” R. Murchison

The Rev. William “Bill” R. Murchison died on August 1, 2021, at the age of 90.

Bill is survived by his sons, Adlai Rucker Murchison and William Vincent Murchison, and by his grandsons, Mac Thompson Murchison and Smith William Murchison. The last of his generation, he enjoyed – really enjoyed – the love and adoration of countless nieces, nephews, cousins, second cousins, and all the descendants of his siblings, along with their loved ones. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Linda Lee Murchison.

His graveside service was held in Crockett, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one’s own choosing. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences can be written here.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. John N. Marsh

The Rev. John N. Marsh died on June 6, 2021 at the age of 65.

John is survived by his father, John Milton Marsh; brother, Stephen (Laurie); sisters, Jane, Susan (Scott Jones); cousins, nieces, and nephews; and extended family. He leaves his wife, Alison; children, James, Aidan and Robin; and grandchildren, Daniel and Nina. He was predeceased by his mother Carol Newcomb Marsh.

A virtual memorial service will be held at 3 pm EST, on Sunday June 27, 2021 and will be livestreamed.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of one’s own choosing. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences may be written here
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/wickedlocal-themariner/name/john-marsh-obituary?pid=199137113

A more complete obituary will follow.